Well, I just decided to do it....

I did. I actually got off work 1/2 hour early last night - and after taking dinner (leftovers from our lunch) home for hubby (for some 'unknown' reason, I just wasn't hungry), sitting with him while he ate, I made the call to the nail place and went to get my pedicure! It was nice and quiet, and very relaxing, to have my feet soaking in warm (not as hot as I like) water, then scrubbed and lotioned, and massaged. Especially my feet. I have pretty bright pink polish on today. Didn't get any design - most of my shoes would hide it anyway. Hmmm, no I guess it wouldn't - most of my heels are sandal type. Oh well. Maybe next time.

I am thinking of doing a little more pampering in the near future... maybe this afternoon since I get off around 3-ish. I'm just really tired and need some pampering in a salon.

I should have been born rich instead of just beautiful. sigh.

I discovered yesterday that I am either overworked, or overwhelmed, or really tired. I went to start working on a set of minutes I had that I still needed to do.... and not only were the minutes completed, but I already had them signed. I didn't remember typing them at the time of discovery, but in thinking about it overnight, I vaguely remember finishing it up at the end of the day and didn't scratch it off my list. Yeah I have to keep a list of all I need to type or I will forget one of them!

Today I need to go through all my meetings and double check the minutes are completed for the next meeting - just in case I scratched off the wrong one. Oh well, busy work for a little while. I still have minutes to type, but the day before a three day weekend, and I plan to get off early today, my mind may just not be working totally focused. Right now I see I only have one set of minutes to type yet - and only one meeting next week so it can be a long week without meetings and minutes to do. Of course the following week I have 3 meetings on the 15th and one on the 17th, two the following week (one is the biggest I do) and then one the last week. Then it starts all over. But, that's my job. And I do it the best I can.

My boss just came in - getting mentally prepared for her 8am meeting with THE boss. I had to show her my pretty toes. Darn! She mentioned she was needing to go - and we found a place about a mile from the office. I thought she had recently gone or I would have suggested we go on our lunch hour. Oh well, I was desperate for pampering last night and needed it. I'll check with her next month - I'm sure I'll be ready for toes again.

Time to get to work! Hope you have a safe and happy July 4th!

Blessings!

I just can't do it!

I just can't stop writing what I'm wanting to share about things. I like to talk. This is my venue for doing that. True, when I first set it up I was thinking about just putting "deep" and "thought-producing" thoughts on here. And I still may from time to time. I do admit, though, that I did get way off track by sharing too much personal feelings. That I am going to have to watch. But I have decided that I want this outlet to share my accomplishments, my joy, my celebrations, my life. Sometimes it may contain some bad stuff, but hopefully it will always be good.

How else will my children know what is going on with me? Right?

A lot of moving has been going on these past couple weeks. My middle child moved his daughter far, far away. Ok, not that far, but at least 4 hours, I think. One way. She and I have already started discussing when Grandpa and I can make a trip this fall. Grandpa doesn't like to drive where it is still hot. I can only get him north to Prescott and Flagstaff during the summer. But at least we can start planning and thinking about going for a short visit. I will probably see her much less than I did before - which wasn't real often with her living in Tucson - but now! Thank God for telephones and text messages! I'm already thinking about a "love package" to fix up and send her sometime. She sent me a photo this morning of the front view from her apartment. Absolutely beautiful - and it has a cross off to the right of it. I'm assuming that it is a church in that corner somewhere.

Also within the past couple weeks my youngest son has moved into a house with his family. It's been crazy for sure. He leaves soon for three months officers training. It will be interesting while he is gone, to say the least. We were invited over for dinner the other night and to see his house. It's a nice house and once he gets things put away and gets more furniture, it will be liveable. Things are sparse at the moment. I had to laugh - the pantry was about 1/2 full but it was all organized!

And, my daughter and her family has also moved - and is moving into a three-bedroom today from a two-bedroom. At least with downsizing to the two-bedroom they got rid of a lot of furniture and things. Now they can settle down in the three bedroom and focus on other things.

We aren't moving, but I keep thinking we need to remove a lot of clutter. Yeah, I've been doing that thinking again. I DID go through some things last Saturday and threw away some things. Packed away other things. Don't know if I will plan on doing any of that this weekend or not - will have to wait and see. My mother trained me well to be a pack-rat. I'm trying to break that curse. You should have seen the things I threw away just from my bathroom the other week! Old make-up (well, there was still a little bit left so I had to hang on to it!) that I don't use, 3/4 empty bottles of lotions, etc. Things I wasn't using, wasn't going to use, so why hang on to it. I'm sure there is more just in the bathroom I can get rid of but for now, I did make a huge dent.

We are coming upon the July 4th holiday. Today we are having a BBQ here at work - and we were to bring in red/white/blue desserts for a contest. I made something - but it didn't turn out as well as it did Monday when grandchildren helped make them.

I saw it on facebook - and they are ooohhhhh so good! Slice a banana. Take two of the slices and put peanut butter between them. Put in freezer for about ten minutes. Dip in melted chocolate. Put back into freezer until solid. Eat. Oh yummy! I've decided chocolate is the ultimate covering for the bananas! I stopped to get more bananas and the chocolate last night - but by the second store and I couldn't find white chocolate (I wanted to color it red, white, blue), I settled on "candy dips". I melted it - and, well, it's just not the same. It did put a shell around the bananas, but it certainly doesn't taste as good as the chocolate covered banana and peanut butter did. But, I made a bunch and brought in for the contest. Who knows - I may win - we do have first second and third prizes! I think I win one of the prizes every time - not always first prize, and that's ok. A $5 gift card spends just as well as a $25 one.

Short week this week - I took Monday off and baked all day - and we are off on Friday for the July 4th holiday. And I get to leave early on Thursday. I think I'm due for a mani-pedi and some other pampering. Now whether or not I will follow through on that I don't know, but I'm due. Thursday afternoon might be a good opportunity to do it - before the weekend rush and still during the day. Will have to process that.

My boss is in and it's nearly time for me to get started on the day. Minutes to type and things to get done. Boss says she is getting a new car today - on her lunch hour! - and asked that I be sure and get her a plate of the BBQ - which of course I will. I really enjoy working with her.

Need to get to work - hope I haven't bored you with my ramblings - will try to be more productive in the future. Have a great day!

Blessings!

Who Makes a Difference?

At your first job, did someone bring you under their wing and teach you how to do things?

Back in 1974 I was hired in customer service at a small fabric upholstery company that had just opened in Indianapolis. Within a couple months I was called into the President’s office. He offered me the job of bookkeeper (the one they had unexpectedly left). I told him I knew very little about bookkeeping – only what I learned in school (Yes, when I went to high school, bookkeeping was an actual subject). He didn’t care. He would teach me, and the CPA would teach me, what I needed to do. Fearfully, I accepted the position.

Mr. Knowles and the CPA worked patiently with me and taught me how to do payroll, monthly reports, sales reports, credit reports – and I even branched into computers (after working for years using an old Burroughs manual posting machine!). Mr. Knowles believed in me, and trusted me to give him and the company excellence.

I quickly learned how fast I could be on the calculator. Steve, our CPA, and I would often “race” through the numerical columns to see if we reached the same total. I sometimes even beat him! Steve also helped me learn a lot, but it was Mr. Knowles who believed in me to ask me to take on the job.

Mr. Knowles and I still keep in touch. He left that company and started his own business in Florida, which he has since sold (He just turned 86!) I left the company after 7 years and ended up in Phoenix. But I have never forgotten Mr. Knowles who gave me confidence in myself and in abilities. I often tell him how much what he did for me has meant all these years. And he always tells me how much that makes his day to hear he made a difference in my life.

What about you? Who has made a difference in your life? Have you told them lately ‘thank you’?

Better yet, who’s life are YOU making a difference in?

Who are you encouraging, mentoring? If you don’t have someone in your life you are mentoring, look for someone you can come alongside and offer words of encouragement to. It may change their lives.

Blessings!

Patience.... not one of my greatest virtues....

I have patience. Most of the time. With most people. And most always with my grandchildren. I think I can remember only one time of being the start of impatient with a granddaughter. I think she was about ten. We had gone to her favorite store(s) to do some shopping. Since it is said she is a lot like me (I look at lots of things, even carry them around with me, then put them back and walk out of the store two hours later) it was decided that I should be the one to take her on this shopping trip. Which I did gladly. However, by the time we had gotten to the fifth store and she had not purchased anything, I was getting a little weary. Not of being with her, mind you, but the fact she hadn't purchased anything in any of the previous four stores. I finally commented to her something like 'will you please just find something?'. To which she responded, "Grandma, does someone need a nap?" That cracked me up and it didn't matter anymore. I still look back on that time with fondness of memory. It was just so out of the blue and so unexpected.

Some things about patience I have learned from a book I've been going through........

Patience should be a virtue. How do we do that?

Prioritize patience as a virtue worthy of developing. Arnold Glasgow stated, "The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not smashing it."

Understand that it takes time to build good relationships. That includes people you associate with as well as even siblings. You learn if you can trust them. When that trust is broken, you find you move slower and more cautiously to have a good relationship. Anything really worthwhile in this life takes time to build, and that's true also of relationships. Even in the best circumstances, such as when you have instant chemistry with another person, it still takes time to build that relationship and make it strong. All good relationships take time.

Each of us thinks our circumstances warrant special consideration - people should be extra patient with us. Instead, we should turn the tables; we should put ourselves in the other person's place and be extra patient with them. And some people need a lot of extra patience.

We all have heard the story......... the next time you're feeling impatient with someone who is slowing you down, think about this story:

A young woman's car stalled at a stoplight. She tried and tried to get it started, but had no luck whatsoever. The light turned green, and there she sat, angry and embarrassed, holding up traffic. The car behind her could have gone around, but instead the driver added to her frustration by laying on his horn. After another desperate attempt to get the car started, she got out and walked back to the other car. The man rolled down his window in surprise. "Tell you what," she said. "You go start my car, and I'll sit back here and honk the horn for you."

and the last point for today....

Realize that people have and create problems.

When it comes to people, there is good news, and there is bad news. The good news is that some people in your life are going to be the source of your greatest joy. The bad news is that those same people may be the cause of your greatest problems. That’s true not only at home but also at work. And the higher you climb in leadership, the more difficult the problems. When you decide to develop a relationship with another person, keep in mind that it’s a package deal. You don’t get to take only the good stuff and reject the bad. Everybody has problems, blind spots, and bad habits. Try to give others the same kind of grace you’d like to receive for your shortcomings.

Blessings!

Flawed and Cracked, He still loves me...

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'

The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?' That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.'

For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.



In cleaning up and deleting a lot of my emails, I came across the one above. A story someone had sent me. I thought to myself as I read it, "how ironic I find this now". I especially focus on the last "paragraph". 'Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each ahve that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.'

Sometimes you have to look real deep to find good.... sometimes it is there on the surface.... and sometimes it is so hidden you wonder if they have any good in them. But they surely do. God gives each of us Good. We may not want others to see that good in us, but it is there. It is in the kind moments when you speak to your children. It is in the moments when you are touched by a stranger's pain and reach out a hand. Sometimes you just feel it.

Have you watered any flowers along the way? I picture myself as the cracked and flawed pot. By the grace of God, He loves me and accepts me just as I am. He doesn't look for faults, He doesn't diss me, He doesn't say cruel and hateful things to me. He just loves me.

In spite of the fact He let the blower on my air conditioner in the car go out last night. He still loves me. And I hang on to that.

Blessings!

How much are you willing to give in relationships?

I read an article this morning about Seabiscuit, the great horse that took the world by storm back in the 1930's, I believe it was.

Hillenbrand describes the horse this way:

The colt’s body, built low to the ground, had all the properties of a cinder block…..His stubby legs were a study in unsound construction….Thanks to his unfortunate assembly, his walk was an odd, straddle-legged motion that was often mistaken for lameness….His gallop was so disorganized that he had a maddening tendency to whack himself in the front ankle with his own hind hoof…All of this raggedness was not helped by his racing schedule….Though only three years old, he had already run forty-three races, far more than most horses contest in their entire careers.

What looked to others like an incorrigible nag became one of the world's most famous racehorses. But it took three men that were very different to work together for it to happen. A millionaire, a frontiersman, and a prizefighter. These three men, though so very different, did not focus on their differences, but on what they had in common. Making Seabiscuit a champion.

They had to be willing to find the 1 percent they agreed on and give it 100 percent of their effort. John Maxwell puts it this way, "If two men on the same job agree all the time, then one is useless. If they disagree all the time, then both are useless." So the question you need to ask yourself is, "Can I find common ground, and will I give it 100 percent of my effort?"

Mr. Maxwell goes on to say...."Sometimes building relationships is an uphill battle, and connecting with another person can be particularly difficult. How do you connect with people when you seem to have nothing in common with them? Can you build relationship bridges in such circumstances? And, if so, can the relationships be healthy, long-lasting, and productive? These are legitimate questions. Let’s face it. When you see no common ground with another person, it’s going to be a challenge to connect. So how do you do it?

The answer can be found in the 101 Percent Principle. When connection is difficult, you must find the one thing the two of you can agree upon. You can do that with just about anybody. The problem is that many people naturally take the opposite approach; they look for differences. Why? Sometimes it’s due to natural competitiveness; people are often looking for an edge. Sometimes it’s to make themselves stand out, to find their own distinctiveness. Other times people focus on differences because they feel threatened by others.

Instead, to make a connection, people need to reach common ground. Most people have many things in common. But even the oddest couple can find something they agree on. Once they do, they need to give it 100 percent of their effort. The greater the differences, the more important it is to focus on what they agree on – and the greater the effort they need to give it. That’s not always easy, but the benefits can be remarkably rewarding."

I think of relationships within my own world. Right now some are healthy and some are not. Ok, I've had to erase three times what I've written so guess I need not say any more. I don't write to offend others, and my prayer is always that their (and mine) eyes will be opened to see themselves as others see them.

In thinking about Seabiscuit, he won because others were willing to move past their differences to help this horse succeed. In relationships, are we willing to move past our differences to help others succeed? Interesting thought, don't you think? Sometimes we hold disagreements, thoughts, opinions against others and use against them. Sometimes it is better to move past that. Ok - still erasing so can't put what I'm thinking.

So with that - this is kind of confusing today - but think about those in your life and how you can work together instead of finding fault in your differences. Build on the common ground.

Blessings!

Bad Hair Day?

In searching for a story this morning to share when I send the reports, I found this one about a 'bad hair day' or 'bad attitude'. Some of you can probably relate to this one - one way or another! I found it interesting so am sharing it today.

Choose Your Attitude
or The Really Bad Bad Hair Day
- Choose your attitude? What do you mean?

I had a bad hair day. A Very Bad bad hair day.


I had gone to bathroom after waking up and almost screamed at the sight of the monster who seemed to live in the bathroom mirror. It had been there for years, looking mostly ghastly, but we got along. I wholeheartedly agreed that it was a blessing of nature my sight had gone worse during the years because I usually had a chance to slip into shower and only after that put on my glasses and look into the realm of the monster in the mirror. With my hair wet it usually looked ok and ready to be tamed.

Not so this morning. This morning the monster looked like it had suffered from severe electric shock. Einstein would have envied that hair. And of course this was the morning I had slept too long and had no time to shower.

I did all I could. I combed the hair. No effect. So I decided a pony tail was the answer. I used a lot of hair spray to glue my hair into a tight helmet. Nothing could escape a tight pony tail.

Or so I thought. Because when I ran to my car and drove to work I realized my whole pony tail had escaped. The rubber band I had used in haste had fallen somewhere. The hair was stiff from the hair spray and as it was a bit windy outside, the wind ruffled my hair into interesting spikes. I saw myself reflected in the glass doors of the office and the only thing that I could compare my head to was Sputnik. Or some other satellite - lots of spikes shooting out of my head like antennas.

And so I arrived at work looking worse than ever, hoping I would not meet anyone with a heart condition on my way to my desk.
- Yikes! What happened to you? Maria shouted (and of course this got everyone´s attention - I saw heads rising, amused smiles - thanks a lot, Maria!).

- I hate my hair, I said to her, - I really really hate my hair. The ultimate bad hair day in progress.

Maria tried not to smile, but wasn´t very successful. I heard someone laughing quietly nearby.

- You know - it´s all about the attitude they say. You can choose your attitude even about this, Maria said.

- Choose your attitude? What do you mean? With this? Choose your attitude indeed...

Good heavens that girl was a real Pollyanna...

- You at least have thick hair! You should be happy about it, Maria said.

I did not even answer that but tried to find anything I could use to tie my hair to a pony tail again. Maria didn´t seem to take the hint but just stood by my table.

- Ever heard of the story of this one woman…

I sighed. She was going to tell something to cheer me up and I wasn´t in a receptive mood for such wisdoms.

- No.

- Well, I don´t remember the exact words but one day there was this woman who was almost bald...

- Right, you mean I should cut my hair off now? Thanks a lot…

- No, silly! Maria laughed, - But one morning she looked in the mirror and noticed she only had three hairs. She smiled and said "Great! I think I shall braid my hair today". And she did. And she had a great day.

Maria handed me a ribbon from her own long hair (which of course as a result fell beautifully down her back).

- The next day she looked in the mirror and noticed she had only two hairs left. "Great!" she said, "I think I´ll part my hair down the middle today!" And she did and had a great day.

I did what I could to make my ponytail look decent, using an old comb I had in my drawer for emergencies.

- The next morning she looked in the mirror and noticed she had only one hair left. "Great!" she said, "I think I´ll wear my hair in a pony tail today" And she did and had a great day. And the morning after that she noticed she had no hair left at all. "Great!" she said, "I don´t have to fix my hair today!"

I opened my mouth to say something witty, but didn´t have time to do so before Maria handed me a leaflet.

- Actually I came here to ask if you would buy a ticket to this concert.

I looked at the leaflet. A fund-raising concert for the local children´s hospital cancer ward. A bald child looked me straight in the eye from it, smiling with dark circles under his eyes.

I felt the weight of my hair - now in a tight ponytail.

- I´d love to come, I said reaching for my purse.

I heard Maria´s words in my mind. "You can choose your attitude."

And suddenly my hair was just perfect.



________________________________________
We are often less than happy about our bodies. The hair, the nails, the nose, the weight... Always something to complain about.

It becomes a habit very quickly and soon the only thing we notice in the mirror is what annoys us.

But even in this you can choose your attitude.

How about you really had a look at yourself in the mirror and choose one thing you like about yourself. Be it the color of your eyes, your healthy skin or hair. And compliment yourself (in front of that mirror) about it.

It feels ackward at first, especially if you are used to mostly finding fault about your physique. But if you find that one thing you like, you win. Talk about it to yourself as long as it takes to reach a positive feeling.

And the next time you begin to blame your body for not being what you want, turn your thoughts again to that one good thing you found and praise it again in your mind until you reach that good feeling place again. Your mind can only focus on one thought at a time.

You literally choose your attitude about your body.

And why would you do this exercise? Simply because this way you don´t waste your time in negative thoughts. What would be more useless than that? If you have a healthy body, you should realize how lucky you are. It is one of the greatest blessings you can have in your life.

Most of us think that everyone else is looking at our bodies and finding faults with it. But you know what? Mostly that is not true - they are too busy finding fault in their own bodies to pay much attention to yours...

So go ahead, decide to choose your attitude about your body and start thinking what would be that one thing you like about it.
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Blessings!